Opening program: Wednesday, February 21, 18.00 – 21.00

Within the realm of electronic and smart textiles there have been promising technological investigations that never quite managed to reach their potential. Despite these disappointments, industry, academia and art continue to explore the possibilities of electronic and smart textiles. Rather than presenting “the next big thing,” Attempts, Failures, Trials, and Errors seeks to understand the various stages of projects’ developments by exploring forgotten attempts and perspectives, less successful paths, and less mediatized wearable technologies and e-textiles projects.

As an interdisciplinary field electronic textiles and wearables are the ground for a series of interdisciplinary clashes between textiles and electronics, between software and hardware, between open source and commercial platforms. These clashes are producing inspiring work, but some encounters are also the source of frustration and irritation. Such issues, which we can call benchmarks, are rarely afforded a place in the spotlight. However, taking a look at the process itself says a lot about artists, designers, technologists thought processes. Test-benches are a form of thinking through and with the materials, a form of playing around, of advancing by small steps. By questioning the idea of failure and success, the project puts an emphasis on art’s critical capacity, while at the same time to poetically and self-ironically address contemporary challenges and concerns.

This exhibition is the start of an ongoing investigation and is as such a test in itself. It presents a collection of the responses to an open call for technical trials and errors, failed prototypes, and rejected art and design works.

The Attempts, Failures, Trials and Errors project meditates on the numerous aspects that art, design and technology influence, seeking to offer instruments for cultural, social and technical interventions, to encourage an innovation medium concerned with social and infrastructural aspects.

In connection with the exhibition at Salonul de proiecte, other activities are scheduled to take place: a series of presentations and digital fabrication workshops, and a summer school at the University of Oradea. All the above are meant to facilitate a platform of collaboration and information exchange between professionals in art, science and technology, and to encourage the public to explore boundaries between art and technology.

Website: www.trials-and-errors.com

Exhibition organised by the 2580 Association in collaboration with the Salonul de proiecte Associaton and ZEST Collective

Media partners: Observator Cultural, Arhitext, Zeppelin

Cultural project co-funded by: The Administration of National Cultural Fund, Norwegian Art Council, The Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts

The project does not represent explicitly the Administration of National Cultural Fund’s position. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project nor for the way the results may be used. These are in the full responsibility of the benefiter of the financing.

Salonul de proiecte functions with the long-term support of the Art Encounters Foundation, Timișoara.

Salonul de proiecte is a curatorial program initiated in 2011 by Magda Radu and Alexandra Croitoru. The program focuses through exhibitions, presentations and debates on the Romanian contemporary art, while positioning young artists’ productions into a broader context, local as well as international. Between 2011 and 2015 Salonul de proiecte was located within MNAC Anexa and was supported by the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest. Since the fall of 2015 the program functions exclusively through the Salonul de proiecte Association. Team: Alexandra Croitoru, Magda Radu, Ștefan Sava, Alina Bucur.